This application incorporates by reference Taiwanese application Serial No. 089202992, filed Feb. 24, 2000.
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a supporting module, and more specifically to a supporting module for mounting devices or combinations thereof, such as floppy disk drives (FDDs), hard disk drives (HDDs), or compact-disc read only memory (CD-ROM) drives etc., in an apparatus to be combined with the lower part of apparatus housing, forming a foldable supporting mechanism.
2. Description of the Related Art
The trend and technology of personal computers (PCs) tend to lighter, thinner, shorter, and more compact designs resulting in a reduction of space for mounting internal components. Large-sized devices, such as FDDs, HDDs, or CD-ROM drives, have to be mounted in the space above the main board (or motherboard) of the computer. This makes the assembly and disassembly of the main board components cumbersome.
For a general desktop PC, its internal storage devices such as FDD, HDD, and CD-ROM drive, are all conventionally mounted above the main board and there are several frames available for mounting these devices.
(1) Removable frame. The storage devices are first mounted on the frame and the whole frame then slides into the corresponding part of the housing of the PC. Finally, the frame is screwed onto the lower cover of the housing.
(2) Fixed frame. The frame is fixed and combined into the lower cover of the housing during manufacturing. When assembling the main board components, the user is required to follow a certain sequence. Otherwise, the user will have difficulties in assembling the main board due to the arrangement of the devices mounted on the frame.
(3) Removable frame. This is a removable frame similar to the one described in (1) except that the whole frame is fixed from top to bottom onto the lower cover of the housing.
As mentioned above, during assembling components of the main board for maintenance and upgrading purposes, the conventional supporting mechanism with the fixed frame described in (2) is inconvenient as all the devices are fixed and brings about a hindrance. As for the frames described in (1) and (3), although they are removable, it is still inconvenient that users need to separate the frames from the housing to access the main board.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a supporting module for the devices to mount on, which contributes to the reduction of space of PCs while making the assembly and maintenance of the components and devices of the PCs more convenient.
In accordance with the object of the invention, it provides a supporting module for a first component set to mount on and for forming a foldable combination when the supporting module is coupled to a lower cover of a housing. The supporting module t includes securing frame and a pivoting member. The securing frame has two opposite faces, wherein one of the two opposite faces is for the first component set to mount on, and the other corresponds to a second component set that is disposed on the lower cover of the housing. The pivoting member, located on the bottom of the securing frame, is for coupling the securing frame to the lower cover of the housing.
In accordance with the object of the invention, it provides a supporting module for a first component set to mount on, and for forming a foldable combination when the support module is coupled to a lower cover of a housing, wherein the lower cover of the housing comprises a first opening and a second opening. The supporting module includes a securing frame, a pivoting member and a fixer. The securing frame has two opposite faces, wherein one of the two opposite faces is for the first component set to mount on, and the other corresponds to a second component set that is disposed on the lower cover of the housing. The pivoting member, located on the bottom of the securing frame, is for coupling the first opening. The fixer, being disposed on a side of the securing frame, is for engaging the second opening so that the securing frame is fixed on the lower cover of the housing.
In accordance with the object of the invention, it provides a computer housing including a lower cover, a supporting module, and an upper cover. The supporting module, including a securing frame and a pivoting member, is for a component""set to mount on, and for forming a foldable combination when the support module is coupled to the lower cover. The pivoting member, located on the bottom of the securing frame, is for the coupling of the securing frame and the lower cover. The upper cover is for covering the foldable combination of the supporting module and the lower cover.